متى يُبدِي الكثيبُ لنا غزالَه

ويُدني من أنامِلنا منالَهْ

When will the sand dunes reveal to us their gazelle

And bring closer to our reach its bounty

وكيف يُنيلنا مَن ليس نَلقى

وقد وعد النّدى إلّا مِطالَهْ

How can we attain one we do not encounter

Though the dew promised nothing but its meeting

أراد زيارتي غلطاً فلمّا

مددتُ لنيلها كفِّي بدا لَهْ

He intended to visit me mistakenly, so when

I extended my palm to attain it, it appeared to him

ولمّا أنْ جفا عيني نهاراً

رضيت بأنْ أرى ليلاً خيالَهْ

And when his eyes spurned me by day

I was content to see his shadow by night

وعِفتُ حرامَه فأنال عيني

وقلبي في الدُّجى منه حلالَهْ

I resisted his prohibitions, so my eye attained

His blessings, while my heart found him pure in the darkness

يُرِي عيني الكرى أنِّي أراه

ولم أرَ في الكرى إلّا مِثالَهْ

My teary eyes made me think I saw him

Yet in tears I saw nothing but his likeness

عدمتُ صحيحَه فرضيتُ قَسْراً

بأنْ ألقى على سِنَةٍ مُحالَهْ

I missed his honesty, so perforce I was satisfied

To meet his phantom on a hopeless quest

وقولٍ زارني فوددتُ أنّي

وقيتُ بمهجتي مَن كان قالَهْ

And a saying visited me, so I wished

I had protected my mind from its speaker

ذكرتُ به التّصابي والغواني

وأيّامَ الشّبيبةِ والبطالَهْ

It reminded me of gatherings, songstresses,

Days of youth and joblessness

وكيف ألومُ إمّا لمتُ دهراً

ضللتُ به فأطلعَ لِي هِلالَهْ

How can I blame one whose love made me lose

A lifetime, and revealed to me its crescent

ولمّا أنْ ظمئتُ به سقاني

عذوبتَه وأوْرَدَني زُلالَهْ

When I thirsted, its sweetness quenched me

And its fresh water slaked me

وكان من العِدا قلبي نفوراً

على حَذَرٍ فكان له الحِبالَهْ

My heart was averse to him out of caution

So he had me bound in his fetters

غفرتُ له ذنوبَ الدّهرِ لمّا

أَتى كفّي فأعلقها وصالَهْ

I forgave him the sins of time when

He came to my hand and clung to its union

وَما أَنا مصطفٍ إلّا خَليلاً

رضيتُ على تجاربه خلالَهْ

I am no chosen one, just a friend

Who was content with his trials and defects

تركتُ بجانبِ الوادي ثُماماً

فلم أعرض له وجنيتُ ضالَهْ

I left some belongings near the valley

And did not turn to them, enjoying their loss

وإنّك من أُناسٍ ما رأينا

لهمْ إلّا الرّياسةَ والجلالَهْ

You are of people we have not seen

Anything but leadership and glory from them

علَوْا قُلَلَ الكلام الجَزْلِ فينا

وحلّوا كيفما شاؤوا جبالَهْ

They climbed the peaks of weighty speech among us

And settled them however they wished

وكم رام اِمرؤٌ بهمُ لُحوقاً

بطرقِ المأثُراتِ فما اِستوى لَهْ

How one longed to catch up with them

On the routes of great deeds, but did not attain it

وما زالوا بيوم ندىً سيولاً

لمفخرةٍ ويوم وغىً نِصالَهْ

They did not cease to be one day a torrent of bounty

For pride, and one day swords for combat

وكم ماضي البيان رددتَ منه

غبيَّاً لا تبين له مقالَهْ

How many eloquent ones you turned back

Ignorant, unable to express themselves

وذى لَسَنٍ رجعتَ به صَموتاً

وذى جَدَلٍ عكستَ له جِدالَهْ

And how many debaters you returned muted

Reversing their arguments

فخذها اليومَ قافيةً شروداً

تجوب بها البلادَ ولا ضلالَهْ

So take it today, a poetry of distraction

With which to roam the lands, lost without losing your way

فإنْ قَصُرَتْ فقد أغنتْك منها

إِشاراتٌ لَطُفْن عن الإطالَهْ

For if it falls short, its subtle hints

Have spared you prolongation

فلا مَلَلٌ لقلبي منك دهراً

وحاشا اللَّهَ قلبي من مَلالَهْ

My heart will never tire of you in time

Far be it from tiring of you!